Beka Bourdons Gonzalez Media TV interview on Heavy Is the Crown

In the Beka Bourdons Gonzalez Media TV interview, the purple belt told Jose G that Heavy Is the Crown will put heavyweight women grapplers at the center of its January 10 pay-per-view on MILLIONS. She also explained why the event feels like a return to competition after business commitments limited her training, and how Brazilian jiu-jitsu changed her relationship with her body.

What did Beka Bourdons say about Heavy Is the Crown and heavyweight women in jiu-jitsu?

Beka Bourdons said Heavy Is the Crown matters because it focuses on heavyweight women, not because it is the first all-women’s jiu-jitsu event. She said women in her weight class can struggle to find matches at smaller competitions, making an event built around them an opportunity to compete and connect with other grapplers.

Why the heavyweight focus matters

Bourdons corrected the suggestion that no all-women’s jiu-jitsu event had come before it. She pointed to Five Grappling’s Women’s Cup and other women-centered events, then drew a distinction between those shows and one focused on heavyweight athletes. She said heavyweight women’s matches attract attention because there are fewer such competitors and because their grappling has its own character. Gabi Garcia was one of the prominent athletes she named.

Describing the event’s purpose, Bourdons put it simply:

By the big girls for the big girls

Finding an opponent at smaller competitions

For Bourdons, the focus addresses a practical problem. She said heavyweight women sometimes sign up for a smaller competition only to find that no one is available to face them. She values the chance to meet other grapplers at competitions, and sees a show centered on athletes like her as a way to make those connections as well as get a match.

Heavy Is the Crown is scheduled for January 10 as a pay-per-view on MILLIONS. Bourdons directed people following the event to Body Jiu-Jitsu and the no gi-yo gi on Instagram for updates about the camp and competition.

How did Beka Bourdons start Brazilian jiu-jitsu?

Beka Bourdons began jiu-jitsu after a woman she was dating, then a white belt, persuaded her to watch a class. Bourdons was about 23, close to 300 pounds and had never trained in a gym. Watching the class made the sport feel physically possible to her, so she went back and tried it.

Watching a class for the first time

Bourdons said a traumatic experience involving someone stronger than her had left her frightened and withdrawn. Before visiting the gym, she expected watching jiu-jitsu to be uncomfortable. Instead, a drill involving side control looked accessible: she thought she could attempt the movements, even if she did them clumsily.

She had not considered herself sporty in high school and recalled walking the mile. For her first class, she wore a T-shirt and leggings and put on two bras because she did not have a sports bra. Those details mattered to her because she arrived without the equipment or training history she might once have assumed she needed.

Lucy’s encouragement on the mat

Another heavyweight woman named Lucy partnered with Bourdons early on. Bourdons credited Lucy’s encouragement, and the support they gave each other, with helping her continue. She and the woman who first brought her to the gym later broke up and moved to different cities, but Bourdons said both still practice jiu-jitsu.

How has jiu-jitsu changed Beka Bourdons’s relationship with her body?

Beka Bourdons said jiu-jitsu helped her feel more connected to her body and understand her own strength. Earlier in life, she felt detached from what her body could do. Training did not eliminate every moment of self-doubt, but it gave her a way to recognize that doubt without letting it decide what she could attempt.

She connected some of her earlier feelings about exercise, food and what she deserved to her experience of trauma. At the time she started training, she said she had not been eating well or maintaining a healthy relationship with herself. The first class challenged a belief that her size and lack of athletic experience ruled out grappling.

Years later, Bourdons still encounters movements she dislikes, including granny rolls. She described a change in how she responds to that reluctance: rather than treating it as proof that she cannot do something, she can notice it and keep working. She has been involved in jiu-jitsu for about eight years and described the sport as a source of joy as well as strength.

Why does Beka Bourdons see Heavy Is the Crown as a return to competition?

Beka Bourdons sees Heavy Is the Crown as a return because she enjoyed competing before work and buying her own business took more of her time. She wants to compete more often again, including at International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation and Jiu-Jitsu World League events, while treating this show as a celebration of her progress.

Competition before business took priority

Bourdons competed toward the end of her time as a blue belt. Around the time she received her purple belt, she bought a business, and she said training and competition took a back seat over the following two and a half years. She has continued to train, though less often than before, and said she likes to give competition her full attention when she enters.

The time away was not a loss of interest. Bourdons said she had been enjoying competing when life commitments interrupted it. She still follows heavyweight women in International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation competition and wants a chance to join them on the mat.

Her goals after Heavy Is the Crown

Bourdons would like to return to International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation tournaments and try Jiu-Jitsu World League events. She has not competed in Jiu-Jitsu World League, but said people at her gym speak highly of its competitions. Although Jose G also raised ADCC, her stated plans centered on those two other circuits.

She wants to win at Heavy Is the Crown, but said winning is not its only purpose for her. Competing again, representing heavyweight women and finding a sense of play on the mat are all part of what she hopes to take from the event.

Why did Beka Bourdons recommend Fenom Kimonos?

Beka Bourdons recommended Fenom Kimonos because, in her experience, its women’s gis have been unusually size-inclusive. She particularly valued the option to buy different sizes for the jacket and pants, which better accommodates athletes who do not fit a single size across both pieces. She did not claim to know whether that option remains available.

Asked about products she uses for training, Fenom Kimonos was the brand she named. Her answer returned to the issue running through much of the conversation: making space in jiu-jitsu for women whose bodies do not fit the assumptions built into standard offerings.

Who supports Beka Bourdons at Paragon Santa Maria?

Beka Bourdons thanked the people at Paragon Santa Maria and surrounding Paragon gyms for giving her places to train and cross-train. She said her gym helps keep her accountable and happy, and that some of her best friends are there. She also singled out Annabelle and Christian for thanks.

That support echoes what Bourdons valued in her first weeks of training with Lucy: having people around her who made it easier to return to the mat. As she prepares to compete again, she described Paragon Santa Maria as a daily source of both friendship and consistency.